I found all of the vendor reviews so helpful while planning my wedding,so I wanted to share my experience with all of you.
Rehearsal Dinner - B= Arnies on the Levee,my in-laws chose this place on their own. It was very good food and we used their back patio which had a very nice view of the Cincy skyline,but the guy kept changing the price per person and was very sketchy at first. It turned out pretty good,just the initial meeting with him and they way he tried to change the price every time we turned around..kind of stressed me out.
Venue-B= The Madison,We had both our ceremony and reception at the The Madison South location. We had our Ceremony in the Chapel. I loved the exposed brick and felt it had a vintage feel,which is what I was going for. My florist did some alter arrangements and flower petals lining the aisle,The Madison was supposed to put out hurricane vases with votive candles lining the aisle and didn't. Kind of bummed about that,because it was the look I wanted,it didn't ruin my day,just kind of let me down. It was written in my contract and I went over it with them at the rehearsal. Oh well,the photos are still great and it was beautiful. Our reception was done in the Galleria ballroom and was stunning. Everything was perfect. We had an afternoon ceremony and reception and saved 60%. Just so everyone knows. It included everything an evening wedding does. I worked with Amy Oberjohn and she is so wonderful. She answers every call and email with no problem. About 8 weeks before my wedding,she went on maternity leave and I worked with Brittany Hardtke,she was also very helpful and friendly. Even though I gave them a B,I would still recommend them to anyone,just make sure you have someone check in on the day of your wedding to ensure things are exactly what you want.
Dress D= Davids Bridal- Awful experience for both myself and bridesmaids. Everyone ended up looking great,it was just such a pain to get us there. They lost all of my bridesmaids information after our first visit,then my daughters dress didn't come in until a week before the wedding. The only reason I went there is because I didn't want to spend a lot on my dress,otherwise I would suggest everyone stay away from there. They are all so frantic and crazy and completely unorganized.
Tux rentals-F- Mens Warehouse(bridgewater Falls) Oh my god,what a complete disaster. Seriously,the store manager and everyone else minus a sweet blonde girl named Sarah are completely out of their minds at that store. A few days before the wedding my Husbands tux came in and it was about three sizes too big for him,we brought it to their attention during the fitting and the store manager and another male associate told us that was how it was supposed to fit. I knew it wasn't,we took the tux home and finally,we went back in and demanded they re-measure and order a different size,Sarah was so sweet and took care of us and saved the day. We had to go through this with three of the tuxedos.. Also,the day before the wedding they decided to tell us we no longer qualify for the free tux rental for both the groom and best man,needless to say I had my one and only bridezilla moment and they fixed it. But,in my opinion no one should have to deal with stress like that,so close to your wedding day,. I would chose someone else for your tux rentals,no doubt.
Officiant-A++++ Kathryn Siefert- We met Kathryn in a tiny coffee shop and stayed there for three hours talking to her about anything and everything. She is such an amazing person and truly made our ceremony special and personal just for us. She takes the time to get to know you and creates a ceremony very heartfelt and personal. I feel like not only was she our officiant,but now a friend for a lifetime. If you are searching for an officiant,please take the time to meet with her. She really made our day special.
Hair-A++ Krystal Compston-Krystal was fantastic. I originally went to book with someone else ,but weird stuff kept happening and communication was off and I finally just decided to find someone else. My best friend recommended Krystal and she did my hair and a few others. I never had a trial or anything with her and she came to us in Covington at 5:30 AM and did such an amazing job!! I am so happy I went with her,she's a great person and open to anything. If anyone wants her information you can pm me.
Makeup- A+++ Make up by BIz,Biz happens to do wedding make up and be one of my best friends..which was an added bonus for me. She did a fantastic job!! She did the make up for myself and my mother in law. She uses airbrush and seriously my makeup was flawless. I showed her a picture and she went to work. My makeup lasted all day and night. Looked amazing and I am so lucky to have her in my life. Again,if you need her contact info PM me.
Photographer-A++++ Rachel Spears- Amazing! One of the best decisions I made. Rachel is so talented. But,better yet..she's so real. Friendly,I swear I met her and felt like we knew each other for years! She brought Tara with her and I also loved her. They did such a fantastic job. They were able to keep our large wedding party on point and the pictures in the preview are amazing. If you need a photographer..check Rachel out!! You will not be disappointed! I can't say enough good things about her. I love her.
Florist- B- Two Little Buds- I'll start out by saying my flowers were very beautiful. The only reason I gave them a B-is because they weren't the flowers I chose. Which kind of upset me. I didn't freak out about it or anything,but I was let down. I specifically stated I didn't want to use a certain flower and it was in our alter arrangements and my bridesmaids bouquet. I wanted peonies in my bouquet,but they were out of season..so we decided on garden roses...well,they weren't there. Instead just regular cream roses. Like I said,it sucked because I had a vision and paid kind of a lot of money on my flowers and they weren't anything like we discussed. I'd suggest maybe going in the day beforehand checking them out or having her make up a sample..so you know what you get. Other than that,they were great flowers and looked fine.
DJ-A+++ 513DJ we used the owner Ryan Kellinghaus. What a great job he did!! He's on point and even though we had an afternoon ceremony-our dance floor was packed the entire time. No one on this site reviewed him,I found him via google and it was a fantastic find! On top of that,his prices are hands down better than any DJ on this site people recommended. He has a team of DJ's,who you get to pick. We lucked out and were able to get Ryan. He also did our ceremony music and no additional charge,just a charge for the extra hour of time. Great job and truly made our reception a blast!
Cake-A+++ The Bon Bonerie-Delicious,gorgeous and several people throughout the day came up to me to tell me how they have never tasted cake as delicious as The Bon Bonerie. It was soooo good. I made sure to get two peices,because I loved it so much. We did the signature flavor Opera Cream Torte and then Lemon Romance. It was so yummy. The design was beautiful as well. It had a vintage feel to it,which is what I was going for. I knew I was using them for my cake the day I got engaged,because they are my favorite bakery in the city. So,you can't go wrong with them and their prices are actually not bad at all.